BSP hits out at Katiyar's remark on Taj Mahal, says BJP dividing society
Hitting out at BJP leader Vinay Katiyar's remark that Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said that the saffron party was trying to divide the society.
Giving a new twist to the controversy surrounding the Taj Mahal, Vinay Katiyar, a BJP MP from Kanpur, claimed that it was Lord Shiva's temple called 'Tejo Mahal' which was converted into a mausoleum by Shahjahan.
"This is a well-settled issue. However BJP leaders from time to time arouse sentiments and create a sort of divisiveness in Indian society," Sudhindra Bhadoria told news agency ANI.
Katiyar had, however, said that he does not want the monument to be demolished. He also has no objection to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visiting the Taj Mahal to review tourism schemes.
"It was Tejo Mahal, Lord Shiva's temple, where Shahjahan buried his wife and turned it into a mausoleum," said Katiyar who was at the forefront of the Ram temple movement of Ayodhya.
Theories about the monument's supposed Hindu heritage were floated after historian PN Oak in his 1989 book claimed it was built in 1155, decades before the Muslim invasion of India. He said its name is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit term, Tejo Mahalay.
OneIndia News